Garment hanger



Oct. 6, 1964 N, L, wlNGATE 3,151,788

GARMENT HANGER Filed April 20, 1962 INV EN TOR.

NoQMAN L. Wma/rra United States Patent O 3,151,783 GARVIENT HANGERNorman L. illingate, 906 Mercedes Ave., Albany, Ga. Filed Apr. 2l),1962, Ser. No. 189,185 6 Claims. (Cl. 223-88) This invention relates togarment hangers of the collapsible type. Requirement for this type ofhanger arises from the need for inserting the hanger through arelatively small neck opening, in the case of pull-over sweaters, forinstance, or in cases where it is inconvenient to unbutton a garment toadmit the hanger, followed by re-buttoning, as in display articles inretail stores, for instance.

Collapsible hangers heretofore proposed, have partaken of various formsand schemes, but for the most part have involved a pivoting actionmedially of the shoulder pieces, and the preferred embodiment selectedto illustrate the present invention comprises an arrangement falling inthis general class. One drawback of such jackknife arrangements has beenthe diiiiculty of providing a pivot connection without detriment to thestrength and rigidity of the hanger, when in its expanded form, and itis a general object of the present invention to improve hangers in thisrespect. More particularly, it is an object to provide a folding hangerhaving interlocking elements in the expanded condition, so as to avoidreliance on the pivot for rigidity. A related object is to provide foroverlapping of the hanger parts in the collapsed condition, to the sameend.

Another, and further related object is to provide an improved detent,cooperating with the interengaging parts in the expanded condition ofthe hanger. Irl still greater particular, it is an object to provide abell crank detent, actuable under its own resilience.

Another object is to provide a collapsible hanger having collapsible anddetent features related to a flange and web structure, cross-sectionally-of the hanger. A still further object is to provide a shoulder hangerwith an associated cross-bar hanger related to collapsible features inthe hanger.

The objects also include the provision of a hanger having a minimumnumber of parts, simple in structure, easy of manufacture, and low incost.

These and other ends, which will be readily apparent, are attained bythe present invention, a preferred form of which is described in thefollowing specification, as illustrated in the drawing, in which:

FIGURE l is a front elevational View of the hanger, in expanded form,

FIGURE 2 is a view of the hanger of FIGURE l, with the two swingableparts in collapsed condition,

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of the hinge or pivot regionof the hanger of FIGURE l,

FIGURE 5 is a vertical, sectional view through the pivot, taken on theline 5-5 of FIGURE 4,

FIGURE 6 is a sectional View taken on the line 6--6 of FIGURE 4,

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of FIGURE 4,

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-3 of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of FIGURE 4, and

FIGURE l0 is a perspective view of the bell crank detent, apart from theassembly.

Referring to the drawing by characters of reference, there is shown ashoulder-type hanger, with two generally S-form shoulder elements l0 and12 pivoted together on "ice a common hinge pin. Except as modiiied forpurposes of the present invention, the hanger, which is formed fromsuitable plastic material, is generally of I-form crosssectionthroughout, as known in the art, with edge llanges le and webs IS. Theshoulder element I0 has a neck portion 9 and a shoulder portion Il, theneck portion 9 having a nook portion 2li which is integral therewith andprojects therefrom. The shoulder element l2 has a neck portion I3 and ashoulder portion I5. The neck portions 9 and 13 are arranged forrelative swinging movement on a first pivot pin 14 which is located nearthe bottom of the neck portions and adjacent the line of symmetry of thehanger. The hook portion 29 serves for suspending the hanger from a rodor hook, and carries a latch or detent 2,2, presently 'to be described.Each of the shoulder portions 1I and l5 of the elements I@ and l2 has areentrant notch 24 on its under side, partially closed by an extension26 of the flange I6, having a hooked outer end 2S, the notches beingadapted for hanging slips, or the like. Also, each of the shoulderportions 11 and 15 of the elements lli, I2 has a hooked extension Sli ofange le at its outer end, adapted to anchor the looped ends 32 of across bar 3d. This bar is securely held when the hanger is locked inexpanded position, but may be easily removed, either by flexing thehanger arms, or simply by lifting ol'l after unlocking of the pivotedelements.

In the neck portion of the hanger, the neck portions 9 and I3 of theelements It), l2 have a male-female relationship, 'to provide rigidityand avoid undue stressing of the pivot pin. Thus, the neck portion 9 ofthe element lli has a part of a construction of U-section, with spaced,parallel walls 36 and forming an open slot therebetween (best seen inFIGURE 6), located above the pivot pin 14, and adapted to receive a partof the neck portion 13 of the shoulder element l2, said part being abovethe pivot pin I4 and including the inner and outer edges 38 and 40 whichborder a web panel 42, the outer ilange 44, and the inner flange 46receiving 'the pivot pin, being reduced in width to tit in the receivingunit 36.

The detent or latch 22 is in the form of a bell crank lever (FIGURE l0),with a pair of resilient spaced, parallel arms 48, connected at one endby a cross piece Sii (FIGURE 4) and a pair of depending resilient arms52, disposed at right angles to the iirst pair, on the end opposite thecross piece. The spaced arms of the latch are received on the lowerportion of the hook portion 20 of the hanger, the edge iianges of thehook portion being reduced in width for this purpose, and the arms havealigned bores at their junctions, to receive a second pin 5d, by whichthey are secured to the hanger, for swinging movement. The cross pieceSii, which constitutes the detent element of the latch, is engageable ina notch 56 midway of the top edge of the neck portion of swingableelement l2, the said top edge, at flange 46, being rounded as at 58, soas to cam the detent Sti upward automatically when the hanger is swungto unfolded condition. In the latching action, the depending pair ofarms 52, provide the bias on the detent Sii through their naturalresilience, being permanently engaged at their lower ends in a pair ofslots substantially vertically below the second pin 54 and formed in theupper edge of the cross flange 62 of the neck portion 9 of the shoulderelement 10, as by the curved portion ell formed in said liange 62,whereby the arms are flexed, as shown by the broken lines in FIGURE 4,when the bell crank is swung counterclockwise, as when cammed by edge 5Sduring closing, or when lifted manually for opening. Since the holdingarms 48 of the latch are located at a substantial distance above themain pivot pin 14, and the load on detent 5@ is substantially alignedwith pin 54 of the latch, there is no tendency for the latch to openaccidentally. On the other hand, man- 3 ual pressure may be applied atright angles to this line, whereby the force necessary to iiex the arms52, sufiiciently for release of the detent is easily applied.

In order to provide an optimum degree of collapse, the elements 10 and12 are constructed for clearance, or overlap, scissors-fashion, up to asubstantial distance from the pivot, in the folding movement. As seen inFIGURE 8, this is accomplished by locating the respective Webs 62, 64,in this region on opposite sides of the central plane of the normal webs18.

While a certain, preferred embodiment has been shown and described,various modifications will be apparent, in the light of this disclosure,and the invention should not, therefore, be deemed as limited, exceptinsofar as shall appear from the spirit and scope of the appendedclaims.

I claim:

l. A collapsible garment hanger comprising two shoulder elements, eachelement having a neck portion and a shoulder portion, one of the neckportions having a projecting hook portion integral therewith, the neckportions being arranged for relative swinging movement on a irst pinlocated near the bottom of the neck portion and adjacent the line ofsymmetry of the hanger, a second pivot pin carried by said one of theneck portions and located spaced above said first pin and laterally ofsaid line of symmetry, a bell crank lever with two pairs of resilientspaced parallel arms disposed rectangularly and straddling said one neckportion and journaled at its vertex on said second pin, one of saidpairs of arms having a cross-piece connecting their outer ends, said oneneck portion having a pair of notches substantially vertically belowsaid second pin and receiving the outer ends'of the other of said pairof arms for anchoring the last-mentioned arms against revolution aboutsaid second -pin to a minor degree against flexure resilience of saidother of said pair of arms, a part of said one neck portion being ofspaced wall construction and dening an inwardly open slot and a part ofthe other neck portion having an inner edge receivable in said slot, anda notch in the upper edge of said other neck portion adapted to receivesaid crosspiece.

2. A device as in claim l, said shoulder portion having inwardly andupwardly hooked outer ends, and a cross bar with looped ends engagedwith said outer ends.

3. A collapsible garment hanger according to claim 1 wherein the upperedge of said other neck portion is provided with a curved portionadapted to cam said crosspiece upwardly.

4. A collapsible garment hanger comprising two shoulder elements, eachelement having a neck portion and a shoulder portion, one of the neckportions having a projecting hook portion integral therewith, the neckportions being arranged for relative swinging movement on a first pinlocated near the bottom of the neck portions and adjacent the line ofsymme'tryrof the hanger, a second pivot pin carried by one of the neckportions and located spaced above said iirst pin and laterally of saidline of symmetry, a bell crank lever with two pairs of resilient spacedparallel arms disposed rectangularly and straddling said one neckportion and journaled at its vertex on said second pin, one of saidpairs of arms having a cross-piece connecting their outer ends, detentmeans on said one neck portion restraining the outer ends of the otherof said pairs of arms against revolution about said second pin, and saidlever being rotatable about said second pin to a limited degree againstthe exure resilience of said other of said pairs of arms, a part of saidone neck portion having an open slot and a part of the other neckportion having an inner edge receivable in said slot, and an upper edgewith a curved portion adapted to cam said crosspiece upwardly, and aslot beyond said curved portion adapted to receive said cross-piece.

5. A collapsible garment hanger comprising two shoulder elements, eachelement having a neck portion and a shoulder portion, one of the neckportions having a projecting hook portion integral therewith, the neckportions being arranged for relative swinging movement on a first pinlocated near 'the bottom of the neck portions and adjacent the line ofsymmetry of the hanger, a second pivot pin carried by said one of theneck portions and located spaced above said irst pin and laterally ofsaid line of symmetry, a bell crank lever with two pairs of resilientspaced parallel arms disposed rectangularly and straddling said one neckportion and journaled at its vertex on said second pin, one of saidpairs of arms having a crossapiece connecting their outer ends, detentmeans on said one neck portion restraining the outer ends of the otherof said pairs of arms against revolution about said second pin, and saidlever being rotatable about said second pin to a limited degree againstthe iiexure resilience of said other of said pairs of arms, the other ofsaid neck portions having a cam means to lift said cross-piece, and aslot to receive said cross-piece.

6. A collapsible garment hanger comprising two shoulder elements, eachelement having a neck portion and a shoulder portion, one of the neckportions having a projecting hook portion integral therewith, the neckportions being arranged for relative swinging movement on a irst pinlocated near the bottom of the neck portions and adjacent the line ofsymmetry of the hanger, a second pivot pin carried by said one of theneck portions and located spaced above said irst pin and laterally ofsaid line of symmetry, la bell crank lever with two pairs of resilientspaced parallel arms disposed rectangularly and straddling said one neckportion and journaled at its vertex on said second pin, one of saidpairs of arms having a cross-piece connecting their outer ends, detentmeans von said one neck portion restraining the outer ends of the otherof said pairs of arms against revolution about said second pin, and saidlever being rotatable about said second pin to a limited degree againstthe iieXure resilience of said other of said pairs of arms, the other ofsaid neck portions having a slot adapted vto engage said cross-piece.

1. A COLLAPSIBLE GARMENT HANGER COMPRISING TWO SHOULDER ELEMENTS, EACH ELEMENT HAVING A NECK PORTION AND A SHOULDER PORTION, ONE OF THE NECK PORTIONS HAVING A PROJECTING HOOK PORTION INTEGRAL THEREWITH, THE NECK PORTIONS BEING ARRANGED FOR RELATIVE SWINGING MOVEMENT ON A FIRST PIN LOCATED NEAR THE BOTTOM OF THE NECK PORTION AND ADJACENT THE LINE OF SYMMETRY OF THE HANGER, A SECOND PIVOT PIN CARRIED BY SAID ONE OF THE NECK PORTIONS AND LOCATED SPACED ABOVE SAID FIRST PIN AND LATERALLY OF SAID LINE OF SYMMETRY, A BELL CRANK LEVER WITH TWO PAIRS OF RESILIENT SPACED PARALLEL ARMS DISPOSED RECTANGULARLY AND STRADDLING SAID ONE NECK PORTION AND JOURNALED AT ITS VERTEX ON SAID SECOND PIN, ONE OF SAID PAIRS OF ARMS HAVING A CROSS-PIECE CONNECTING THEIR OUTER ENDS, SAID ONE NECK PORTION HAVING A PAIR OF NOTCHES SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLY BELOW SAID SECOND PIN AND RECEIVING THE OUTER ENDS OF THE OTHER OF SAID PAIR OF ARMS FOR ANCHORING THE LAST-MENTIONED ARMS AGAINST REVOLUTION ABOUT SAID SECOND PIN TO A MINOR DEGREE AGAINST FLEXURE RESILIENCE OF SAID OTHER OF SAID PAIR OF ARMS, A PART OF SAID ONE NECK PORTION BEING OF SPACED WALL CONSTRUCTION AND DEFINING AN INWARDLY OPEN SLOT AND A PART OF THE OTHER NECK PORTION HAVING AN INNER EDGE RECEIVABLE IN SAID SLOT, AND A NOTCH IN THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID OTHER NECK PORTION ADAPTED TO RECEIVE SAID CROSSPIECE. 